Tablet-packaging machine.



chutes UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

I OTTO E. HERMANN AND ELDEN C. DE WITT, 'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. I

TABLET-PACKAGING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 6, 1911.

' Patented May 5, 1914. Serial in). 619,254.

To all wit-0m it may concern:

Be 1t known thatwe, OTTo E. HERMANN and ELDEN C. DE WITT, citizens of the United States, and residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tablet-Packaging Machines, of which the following is a full and complete specification.

The main objects of this invention are to provide a tablet packaging machine which is-adapted to accurately separate from a mass of tablets a plurality of groups of tablets, each having them in cartons or other packages; to provide ,a tablet packaging machine which is adapted to separate out all of the small fragments which may have broken from the tablets; to provide a device'adapted to simultaneously fill a large number ofpack- .ages with an equal number of tablets in each package; to provide improved mechanism adapted to separate the flow of tablets from the hopperinto a plurality of streams or courses, each leading to a pack age; to provide improved mechanism adapb ed to stop the flowof each stream after the number of tablets necessary'to fill a package has passed below the same; and to provide a cheap, simple and easily operable device adapted to perform its work with great rapidity.

A specific embodiment of said invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tablet packaging machine embodied in this invention, with the protecting screen for the broken away. Fig. 2 is auside elevation of themachine. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the chutes and agitator. Fig. 4 is asection of the agitator taken on line'l4' of Fig. 2.' Fig. 5 is a section of the chute-s taken on line 55 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a frontelevation of the machine.

In the construction shown, the main frame comprises side members 1 which incline downwardly from the rear, and are connectedtogether near their upper edges by trans;

.The frame is pro-- a given number, and place door 9 which is hinged at its forward margin to the front wall of the hopper beneath said opening. A push rod 10 is slidably mounted in the front wall of the hopper beneath said door, and is? secured toja lug 11 on the rear margin ofthe door. A spring 12 is secured at one end to the front of the hopper and at its other end is secured to an ear 13 on the rod and acts normally to force the rod inwardly and,hold the door. in closed position.

A-separating screen 14 is secured at its rear mar in to a cleat 15 on the rear of the frame sllghtly below the door 9. Said screen inclines downwardly and forwardly between the side members 1, and its .forward portion 16 is unperforated and rests on the rear edge of the agitator 17. The agitator comprises a base or board 18 on which are a plurality of ribs 19 which extend longitudinally of the machine and are rounded on their upper edges. Said ribs are spaced just far enough apart to permit the tablets to pass therebetweeh edgewise in single file. The rear ends of the ribs 19 are beveled downwardly and rearwardly and the front end of the screen rests thereoii. The rear portion of the agitator rests upon the beam 4, and at its forward edge the ribs 19 project beyond the base board 18 and rest on the base board 20for the chutes. A bar-21 is rigidly securedon the side members 1 and overlaps the projecting ends 22 0 the ribs 19-, which ribs are reduced in height to extend beneath said bar. The base board 18 abuts against the base board 20 to provide an unbroken surface from the agitator to the chutes;

hopper 7 into which the tablets'are placed A shaft 23'is journaled in the side membersl beneath the central portion-of the agitator, and is provided at one end with "a crank 24. Rigidly secured on said shaft aboutmidway bet-ween the side members 1 is provided with Said teats 26 are is a cam wheel 25 which aplurality of cam teats 26. abrupt on one face, on the other, and are adapted to engage a cleat 27 on the bottom of the agitator. When the crank 24 is turned in a direction for,the cam teats to approach the. cleat 27 from their inclined sides, said teats will raise the rear end of the agltator 01f from the and incline gradually v the base board 2 0.

in slots 37 in end of the shaft and acts beam"4 and drop it back onto said beam when the teat passes from beneath the cleat, thereby causing said rear end to vibrate vertically. 'When the crank is turned in the opposite direction the abrupt sides of the teats engage the front side of said cleat and force the agitator rearwardly. Gravity causes the agitator to move forwardly to normal position after the teat has passed the cleat. The agitator may therefore be given a forward and rearward reciprocating motion, or a vibratory motion as desired.

The chutes 28 are formed of strips of sheet metal which are bent centrally to bring the two ends or halves thereof into parallel rela tion and relatively close to each other. Said ends or halves are inserted edgewise into grooves in the base plate clearly in Figs. 1 and 5. They also project at their rear ends into the front ends of the grooves or channels in the agitator, so that tablets passing down. from said channels will enter the chutes. The forward ends 29 of the chutes are wed e shaped and project horizontally beyond t e front edge 30 of The forward ends 29 of said chutes are rigidly by means of a rod 31 which holdsthem in unvarying relation to each other.

Standards 32 are rigidly side members 1, near the front ends thereof, and a shaft 33 is journaled in the upper ends of said standards. Cross arms 34 are secured on said shaft forward ends thereof are links 35 which are secured at their lower ends to a vertically slidable gate 36, which is slidably mounted the side members. The base board 20 and the chutes 28 are out transversely in alinement with the slots 37 to permit the gate to work therethrough. Springs 38 connect the rear ends of said cross arms with the side members 1: and act to normally hold the gate 36 in the chutes at the front edge of the base board 20. A lever 39 is secured on one end of the shaft 33 and provides means for rotating the shaft to drop the gate beneath the chutes so that the tablets may pass into the ackages.

At a distance to the rear of the gate 36 is a stop shaft 40 which is journaled in suitable bearings 41 on the side members 1. Said shaft 40 is provided with a plurality of stop fingers 42 which normally project forwardly and downwardly into the chutes 28. A weighted lever or handle 43 is carried on one to, normally hold the fingers down in the chutes to stop the flow of the tablets therepast. Said fingers are so disposed with respect tothe gate 36 that the desired number of tablets to be placed in a package may be contained in'the chutes between the fingers and the gate.

Extending across the chutes forwardly of 29, as shown more connected together secured on the 'tion and the cam 33, and connected to the elevated position to close chutes.

the stop shaft 40 are a plurality of rods 44 which are secured theside members 1, and are adapted to prevent the tablets from jumping out of the lower ends of the chutes. Above the shaft 40 the chutes are covered with a screen 46 to prevent the tablets from jumping out.

The platform 6 is provided with rollers 47, and a tray 48 is adapted to rest thereon and contain the packages 49 to be filled. The chutes 28 are arranged a distance apart, due to the thickness of the ribs 19, and where small packages are used, 5 shown in the drawings, the discharge ends ofthe chutes cover alternate packages, and when those packages are filled the tray is withdrawn and moved endin place by staples 45 in,

wise sufficiently to bring the empty packages 4 beneath the chutes, when the tray is again moved rearwardly to filling position. A drawer 'or other receptacle 50 is supported on a shelf 51 beneath the screen 14 in position to catch the small fragments of tablets whichpass through the screen.

The operation is as follows: A quantity of tablets, which are disk shaped, are placed in thehopper 7 and when the trap door 9 is opened a quantity'of them will fall onto the screen 14. The crank 24 is then turned in either direc- 25 causes the agitator to vibrate. The vibrator causes the screen 14 to vibrate and shake the dust and small particles of tablets into the drawer 50, and causes the tablets to "slide down onto the rear end of the agitator. As the tablets pass from the screenv the ribs '19 cause them to turn up edgewise in the channels 18, and the inclination of the vibrator causes the tablets to roll down into and fill the chutes 28. During this operation the gate 36 remains up or closed, and the stop fingers 42 are raised to permit the tablets to pass down to the gate. Whe .the chutes are full the stop fingers are low red to prevent the tablets above them from moving downwardly, and

' then the gate is lowered to permit the tablets below the fingers to pass down into the car tons or packages. The gate is then permitted to return to normal position under the action of the springs 38 and other packages are shifted beneath the ends of the i The stop-fingers are then again raised to permitthe desired quantity of tablets to pass down to the gate and the gate is lifted as before. It is therefore evident that the chutes may be kept filled with" tablets and that the desired number of tablets may be quickly separated in the chutes and de livered to the packages.

While but one specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described it will be understoodthat many of the details of the construction shown-may be varied or omitted without departing from the scope of the claims.

of the construction shown We claim:

1. A tablet packaging machine, comprising a frame embracing side'membe'rs and an inclined base member extending therebetween, said base member being provided with a plurality of laterally spaced upright strips, 'the alternate spaces therebe ween forming chutes, a movably mounted inclined agitator at the rear of, in alinement with and forming an extension of said base memher, said agitator being provided with a plurality of laterally spaced upright ribs forming grooves severally in communication with said chutes, ascreen located at the rear of and having its forward edge in contact with said agitator, said screen being adapted to have vibratory movement imparted thereto in the vibration of said agitator, means having operative connection with said agitator for imparting avibratory movement thereto, and a gate located atthe forward ends of said chutes for controlling the discharge of-tablets therefrom.

2. A tablet packaging machine, compris: ing a frame embracingsi'de members and an inclinedbase member extending, therebetween, said base member being provided with a plurality of laterally spaced, upright strips of metal, the spaces therebetween forming chutes; the forward ends of the strips forming each chute projecting beyond the forward end of said base member and connected with each other for closing the forward end of the chute, an agitator located at the rear of and forming an extension of said base member and provided with a plurality of laterally spaced, upright ribs forming grooves severally in communication with said chutes, means adapted to deliver the tablets to said agitator, and said agitator being adapted to turnthe tablets on edge and deliver them in edgewise position and in rows to said chutes, means having operative connection with said agitator acting to impart a vibratory movement thereto, and

means at the lower ends of the chutes adapted to permit a given number of tablets to flow from each chute.

' 3. A tablet packaging machine, comprising a frame embracing sidemembers and an inclined base member extending therebe-- tween, said base member being provided with a plurality of laterally spaced chutes, each chute being formed by bending a strip of metal centrally upon itself and applied to said base member with each half of said folded strip of metal laterally spaced and set on edge on said base member, the folded end of said strip being at the forward end of said base member and closing the forward .end of the chute, and means adapted to receive the tablets in mass, turn them on edge and deliver them inedgewise position and in rowstosaid chutes,

4. A tablet packaging'machine, comprising a frame embracing side members and an innication with said chutes'; the forward ends.

of said ribs extending beyond the forward end of said agitator and projecting into the spaces between said chutes, and the rearward ends of said ribs being beveled, a hopper located above and at the rear of said agitator, a screen located below said hopper and having its forward end resting on the beveled ends of said ribs and adapted to have vibratory movement imparted thereto in the vibration ofsaid agitator, means having operative connection with said agitator for imparting a vibratory movement thereto, and a gate at the lower ends of said chutes. 5. A tablet packaging machine, comprising a frame embracing side members and an inclined base member extending therebetween, said. base member being-provided with a plurality of laterally spaced strips, the alternate spaces therebetween forming chutes; the forward ends of the strips of each chute being horizontally arranged, connected together and extending beyond the forward end of said base member, a mov ably mounted, inclined agitator located at the rear of and forming an extension of said base member and provided with a plurality of laterally spaced ribs forming grooves severally in communication with said chutes, a hopper loca d at the rear of said agitator, a screen locate below said hopper and having its' forward end resting on said agitator,

means having operative connec'tion with said agitator for i-mparting a vibratory movement thereto, and a gate located at the for-' Ward ends of said chutes. Q 1

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names in the presenceof two witnesses.

' OTTO E. HERMANN. ELDEN C. DE WITT.

Witnesses for Otto E. Hermann: C. E. MILLAR,

RUPERT J. BARRY. 

